Health Care for All
Top Stories
Senate Health Care Bill Gets Upper-Hand In Final Talks? Let's Finish Reform Right.
January 4th, 2010
The Huffington Post is reporting that the House-Senate health care negotiations are going to use the weaker Senate version as their starting point. more » Featured Issues
Why Finish Reform Right?
Why is it so important to finish reform in the right way before it gets to the President's desk? Learn why affordability is important and why holding insurance companies accountable is important.... more »
A Simple Plan Goes Awry
Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and David Vitter (R-La.) no doubt thought they were being clever. They crafted an amendment that would force members of Congress to get their coverage through a public insurance plan, if the public option were included as part of health care reform. If it's good enough for American consumers, it should be good enough for their elected representatives, right? They had no idea how much Democrats agreed with the sentiment.... more »
Can We Afford It?
We understand why Americans may be skittish, but the argument is at best disingenuous and at worst a flat misrepresentation. Over the next two decades, the pending bills would actually reduce deficits by a small amount and reforms in how medical care is delivered and paid for — begun now on a small scale — could significantly reduce future deficits. Here is a closer look at the benefits and costs of health care reform.... more »
The Case
Conservatives Blocked Reform
Conservatives have blocked real reform—protecting the greedy practices of the insurance companies, which
put profits before people. more »
Why Health Care For All
The number of people in this country without health insurance is growing. And the likelihood of losing—or not being able to afford—good health care is striking fear in the hearts of many family breadwinners. more »
The Facts
The Case for Public Plan Choice in National Health Reform
Public plan choice, when public and private insurance compete side by side to attract enrollees on a level playing field, rewards plans that deliver better value and health to their enrollees. According to opinion polling, most Americans want public and private insurance competing side by side so that they can choose the best option for themselves and their families. Both should have a chance to prove their strengths and improve their weaknesses in a competitive partnership. Read the report from Prof. Jacob Hacker.more »
More Uninsured Children
In 2006, 11.7% of children, or 8.7 million kids, went without health insurance. That's up from the previous year, when 10.9%, or 8 million children, were uninsured.
The News
The Democrats Need to Find Some Spine and Pass This Bill
January 20th, 2010
In Colorado, Craving Reform of Health Care and Congress
January 11th, 2010
The Case
The Hidden Issue of 2010
Beneath the predictable back-and-forth between Obama and his Republican adversaries over government spending lies a substantively important difference over how the United States can maintain its global leadership. For Republicans, American power is rooted largely in military might and showing a tough and resolute face to the world. They would rely on tax cuts as the one and only spur to economic growth. Obama, Biden and the Democrats, on the other hand, believe that American power depends ultimately on the American economy, and that government has an essential role to play in fostering the next generation of growth.more »
The Unsustainable U.S. Health Care System
Here's a newsflash for those fretting that Democratic health reform will lead to a “government takeover of the health care system” — the feds will account for more than half of all U.S. health spending by 2012 even if nothing changes. According to a report out today from economists at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, federal spending on health care grew faster than private spending in 2009, as more people fell off private insurance rolls and signed up for Medicaid. While the recession is largely to blame for changes in 2009, CMS predicts the trend of an increasing government role in health spending to continue. One reason: As more baby boomers grow old enough to qualify for Medicare, that program is on track to grow substantially. The CMS report couldn't have come at a better time for Democrats.more »
Latest from our Bloggers
jan
27
2010
1:01 pm
1:01 pm
An emergency rally for health care reform was held yesterday at noon outside the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. more »
jan
25
2010
6:26 pm
6:26 pm
Let’s be realistic about our expectations for the State of the Union. We’re unlikely to see a newly-energized President trailing clouds of progressive glory, ascending the podium while the PA blares anthemic 70’s stadium-rock. That’s not his style. (If I’m wrong about that 70's rock, however, I recommend Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy.”) Still, he can recapture the health debate and stay true to himself by saying something like this: more »
jan
25
2010
12:45 pm
12:45 pm
As President Obama speaks to Congress and the nation this week in his State of the Union address, I hope he will make clear three important points about health care reform:
jan
25
2010
11:30 am
11:30 am
Today, Harold Ford Jr., Democratic Leadership Council president, "Morning Joe" pundit, and now early applicant for the Martha Coakley Award For Spectacular Senatorial Flameouts, laid out his 2010 vision in the New York Times ope more »
jan
22
2010
1:56 pm
1:56 pm
What a week. Call it the Shock Doctrine in reverse: The Massachusetts election and yesterday's Supreme Court ruling may force the Democrats to move to the left to ensure their political survival. They're now faced with a choice they clearly didn't want: forcefully reject the corporate agenda, or risk losing to opponents who can attract an unlimited flow of corporate dollars. more »
jan
20
2010
3:16 pm
3:16 pm
It hurts to lose a Senate seat but, hey - setbacks happen in politics. What's really discouraging is the sight of Democrats, from the White House on down, refusing to accept responsibility for their own part in this loss. That, more than the loss itself, is reason for grave concern about health reform - and the party's future. more »
jan
20
2010
11:20 am
11:20 am
The only lesson to be learned is to not listen to anything the village media says. Ever. The Republicans learned that a long time ago. The Democrats need to learn it too.more »
